Angels
by Ninamazing
Summary: Okay, it's short and all, but I'M BAAAACK!! (Reason why I was gone is inside...muhahaha...now you *have* to read it!) And I am trying *desperately* to get it in bigger text - I don't know why it won't work!! AUGH!!!!


**Author's Note: AUGH! Okay, I think I finally figured stupid font size-changing phenomenon out ... uh, never mind. *sigh* SO! Anyways!! Here's the "improved" version, or whatever. =)**   
**Now to my continued absence ... yes, I have been *very* busy. *long sigh* Makes me exhausted just THINKING about it! However, I am now back, and a thousand wonderful smiles and hugs to you ALL ... even the flamers. Why? Because I can!! *grin***   
**Okay, I can tell I'm boring you incredibly, so I'm gonna let you read my fic now ..... (by the way: yes, I know this has been done about three billion times, but I really felt like writing a very classic romance. If you don't like that, phoofish. The world isn't fair. You also don't rule it. *wink*)**

* * *

A pillow slapped James's head.   
"Wake up, lazybones!" Sirius yelled, hurting his ears. James groaned.   
"Sirius, could you possibly not -" Another pillow bombarded him as he spoke. "- do that," he finished hopelessly. He shrugged, smiled, and got out of bed, tossing his own pillow at Sirius as he did so. Rubbing his eyes, he tried to remember the dream he'd been so rudely jolted out of.   
It had angels in it: he knew that much. Or maybe it was only one. He'd been playing Quidditch ... James rubbed his eyes and gave up. Dreams weren't important anyway, especially not when you were awake.   
"James, you look like thirteen Bludgers and a Dementor just lobbed you right in the nose," Remus remarked cheerfully at breakfast in the Great Hall.   
"Thanks, ol' buddy, I needed to hear that," responded James. Azurea Brown, a quiet, somewhat ditzy Gryffindor who was sitting right next to James, chuckled. He grinned and dug into his bacon, choosing not to notice the ferocious scowl on Lily Tarn's face across from Remus on his left.   
"So we've got Care of Magical Creatures first ..." Maralelle Lane, settling down on Lily's left, began, waiting for reactions. It was a well-known fact that the Care of Magical Creatures teacher, Professor Ublin, hated kids and had only been put in the job because even Dumbledore couldn't find anyone else; the inclusion of Northeastern Termagant study in the Care of Magical Creatures curriculum had spread serious alarm all over England.   
Northeastern Termagants were very small, very green, very slimy, and very evil little things. They worked a little like skunks - and they scared easily - but instead of a horrid stench, they sent out a lightning bolt to the nearest person which, of course, caused instant death. The only way to stop them was to cast a very, very exact Disabling Spell, which sometimes didn't work. You had to have precise amounts of the fantastically rare materials involved. Northeastern Termagants had been spotted several times - unfortunately.   
"Great, Professor Ublin," Sirius remarked.   
"Ugh, I know," James agreed.   
"He's not _that_ bad," Lily informed them with an icy glance in James's direction. "You just have to know how to deal with him."   
"Right," James muttered under his breath and decided to concentrate on the rest of his food.   
"Oh, look, a Hufflepuff," noted Sirius, looking mildly amused. A strawberry-blond-haired girl strode over to the Gryffindor table after whispering something to the Ravenclaws, and leaned over to the middle of the table, close to Peter Pettigrew.   
"Ublin's got a Termagant in his pocket, pass it on," she hissed, and left to finish her breakfast. The Slytherins weren't important enough for gossip - at least, by the Hufflepuffs' standards.   
"Oh no!" exclaimed Lily, turning pale. Maralelle put an arm around her.   
"Don't worry, he's probably not going to use it," she comforted. Sirius and Remus looked a little concerned, but they didn't dare say anything. James snickered - very, very quietly. Lily and James were the worst enemies in the entire Gryffindor House; their friends would say they had a relationship worse than any Slytherin and Gryffindor. Ever since their first year, James had been hiding frogs in Lily's robes, and Lily had been practicing vicious snarls and insults in front of a mirror in her dormitory.   
"Don't even start, James Potter," Lily growled, and suddenly burst into tears. She got up hastily and dashed out of the Great Hall, Dumbledore following. Everybody looked at James.   
"WHAT?" he scowled, annoyed. "I didn't even say anything!" Gradually, the chatter of the students came back, and James ate the rest of his breakfast in silence.   
As the Gryffindors were moving out, James caught a glimpse of Lily and Dumbledore emerging from a spare classroom near the Hall, and exchanged "Wouldn't-we-like-to-know-what-went-on-in-there" glances with Sirius. Then they shrugged, and walked across the grounds to Care of Magical Creatures.   
"Valerie Dystom has been spreading it around that I have a Northeaster Termagant concealed in my right robe pocket," Ublin began minutes later. The Gryffindors sighed in relief; they knew that he was about to begin a long lecture on rumors, but anything was better than a Termagant encounter!   
"Those rumors are true," he told them calmly, as if he was commenting on the weather. Everybody gasped at once. "And I am now going to remove it." Out of the corner of his eye, James saw Lily clamp her hand over her mouth to hold back a terrified scream. Somehow, this time he couldn't snicker. He had a very strange impulse to do something, and quickly pushed it out of his mind.   
Are you CRAZY? he thought. Must be ...   
Ublin pulled out a small, slimy, emerald-colored creature. It didn't look so bad, but James figured that he shouldn't speak too soon. The Termagant moved quick as a flash and lit up - the signal that meant it was about to shoot lightning, Ublin informed them solemnly, as everybody thought angrily how much he must have been enjoying himself - and a lightning bolt shot out, but went no farther than two inches, flickered, and died. James gasped, trying to breathe normally again, all around him people were rubbing their eyes.   
"I thought I was blind!" somebody shouted.   
"I thought I was _dead!"_ another person returned, rather shakily.   
Ublin had a smile on his face. "That concludes today's lesson," he announced triumphantly. "Quiet study hall for the rest of the time. Use it well."

Angels again. No, that wasn't right, it was just one. Lily sat up and shot out of bed, breathing hard. It wasn't just angels. It was Termagants too ... and huge bugs ... and ... she shuddered. Help! Help! she thought silently.   
You're being extremely silly, she told herself. You're sixteen years old, and here you go again about Termagants and bugs! What's WRONG with you?   
Nothing's wrong with me, the rest of her argued. I'm just afraid.   
She let her inner fight go, and listened to what she remembered of her dream. Who was the angel?   
"When he was there, the scary things weren't," she whispered, not quite knowing why. He? The angel was a "he," then ...   
"What are you doing up, Lily?" Maralelle asked fuzzily. "It's late, go back to sleep."   
Lily looked at the gigantic dormitory clock. **3:14 A.M.**, it read. She sighed, and climbed back into bed reluctantly, checking her pillow and under her covers for - creepy things.

"James, have you ever thought about a girlfriend?" Sirius asked unexpectedly, at midnight in the common room when no one else would hear; they were all fast asleep upstairs. James and Sirius had decided to have one of their late-night talks.   
"A - a girlfriend?" James stared at the heartthrob of the entire school warily.   
"Yeah, like - like Azurea, or Mara, or Tawny," he replied.   
"Easy for you to say," James returned, a little troubled. "You've had hundreds of them."   
Sirius smiled roguishly. "Seven, actually." James sighed, exasperated, but couldn't hide his grin.   
"Why not, though?" Sirius inquired. "It's not like ... it's not like it's ... well, bad or anything! It's actually kind of nice ..." A fake dreamy look appeared on his face.   
"Sirius!"   
"No, seriously ..." Sirius began, but this was too much. They both dissolved into helpless giggles, covering their mouths so they wouldn't wake anyone.   
"Really?" James questioned. Sirius nodded, trying not to look too eager. "Well ..." James started with a sigh. "I'm scared." Sirius looked shocked. "I KNOW it's just like having another best friend - when it's right - but - but - what if I say the wrong thing? What if she really doesn't like me? What if she just refuses? What if -"   
"Who is 'she?'" Sirius interrupted pointedly. There was a long pause.

The three boys crept into the common room very, very quietly. Whispers began.   
"No, no, I didn't wake Peter ..."   
"Sure, Remus? He's a soft sleeper!"   
"Yes, I'm sure ..."   
"We need four for this one, though -"   
"Four won't fit under the Cloak -"   
"Well, who's going to check the conditions? None of us know about plants or weather or anything! Like we pay attention to Veeler ... worst teacher in the school ..."   
"Sirius's right, you know, James ... we can't just walk across the grounds, now that there's guards because of You-Know-Who's attack -"   
"- _Voldemort's_ attack -"   
"- yes, whatever ... but bottom line is we have to take somebody who does really well in Herbology! It's our worst class."   
James closed his eyes briefly. He knew someone who was good in Herbology. Really, really good. Sirius caught Remus's eye and winked.   
"I think we're going to have to take Lily along on this one, old boy ..."   
"Pair of stubborn schemers ..." James muttered irritably. They knew he was hiding a smile - even without looking. And even though he'd almost yelled at them upstairs for cutting off "a lovely dream" for this escapade.

Now you've done it, Lily told herself. You've gone off with James and his friends. You've stolen a Quidditch broom. From the school. For a stupid reason.   
Well, she admitted silently, reluctantly, the school brooms really are rotten. And Sirius and Remus and - and James really could fix it up. But if they'd gotten caught ... _but we didn't,_ she reminded herself. And you have to admit, they do have a point.   
Yes, they have a point, she thought bitterly. This is so bewildering. First they're my enemies - and James still snickers! He laughed when I was afraid yesterday ... I'm always afraid, except with my angel ... and he always laughs when I'm afraid - and now I'm going out on nightly excursions with them! It's just upsetting, and unsettling, that's what it is. That's really what it is.   
Distressed, she rolled over in bed, not concentrating on her book as she read the words. Her mind was on James and his friends, and why in the name of all things holy she had gone with them that night!   
They hate me, she reminded herself again. And I hate them. And that's that - but then why were they so nice to me tonight? Is it just because they needed someone to check the weather and the plants and everything? The dew level, or whatever Remus called it? Or are they trying to make up? Do I even want to be friends with them?   
She shook her head, and sighed. Her eyelids drifted dangerously close to each other, and her book dropped out of her hand to the floor below.   
My angel will tell me what to do, she thought as she slept peacefully. At last.

James's hair was more messy than usual as he walked into the common room the next day. He just didn't have the time to take care of it this morning! He'd been too worried about Lily ... would she leak the news of their mischief out to Dumbledore? Would she be mad at him? He reminded himself grimly that she was _always_ mad at him; at least that much he didn't have to be disturbed about.   
But was she really? Recently, he'd been seeing a lot of her face without that scowl. He hated to admit it, but he was enjoying it, and now when she scowled, it was unnatural. If Sirius and Remus - and maybe Peter - were trying to set them up ... they'd done a very, very good job. He sighed, listening to his breath as if it were the strangest sound in the world. The room spun before him.   
He blinked once, to clear his vision, and started walking again. He pretended not to notice that when he'd looked over at Lily, she'd quickly looked away from studying his face carefully.

"Mara, stop it!" Lily burst out, vexed. "Add James to the list of things you shouldn't mention around me ... which you're _supposed_ to follow ..."   
"Insects. Serpents. Huge birds. Voldemort. James Potter? Lily, it doesn't fit ..." Mara, or Maralelle, remarked to the shivering girl.   
"I know I'm sixteen," she began.   
"And I know I'm not supposed to be afraid of anything, but sometimes I am. Doesn't that matter to you?" Mara recited from memory, grinning. Lily smiled in spite of herself, but quickly returned her face to a frown.   
"Oh, stop glowering! It doesn't fit on your face," Mara scolded. "And James doesn't like it," she added impishly.   
"Don't be so stubborn! James and I are enemies, not the lovebirds you make us out to be!" Lily told her, annoyed. She obstinately refused to pull the frown off her face. "I just wish all of you would stop trying to set us up."   
"All of us?" Maralelle inquired, raising an eyebrow.   
"My friends, James's friends, the whole school!"   
"Lily darling, don't get paranoid."   
"I'm not paranoid, just _infuriated!"_ she hissed, severely agitated. "It's not fair; go play matchmaker with some other couple."   
"Sheesh, what a nag. You're taking this too far, Lil."   
Lily sighed. She wasn't about to lose a friend over this. "Just please - stop, okay? Just for one day? Please?"   
Mara shook her head. "Fine, but don't take it so seriously. I'm your friend, if I knew you were going to get this mad I wouldn't do it. I'd try not being so icy with James and denying that you two ever spoke nicely to each other, if it were me."

"Come on, it's Halloween, we _have_ to go to the Shrieking Shack!" Tawny Lake protested in Hogsmeade Square. She grabbed James's arm. "Come on, don't be stubborn! James, Remus, Sirius, what's the problem? It'll be fun!"   
Lily stayed in the background. Not that she was taking Mara's advice or something - she grinned to herself - but all three of them looked terribly uneasy. She wasn't about to back Tawny up, even though she did wonder what they all had against the Shrieking Shack.   
The Shrieking Shack ... and the moon ... she remembered thoughfully. What did the two have in common? She looked at the faces of the group again. Sirius and James were both looking at Remus, who had turned a very subtle shade of green.   
You wouldn't see how scared he was unless you looked carefully, she thought. Looked carefully ... the moon, the Shrieking Shack, Remus getting sick about every month - every month - every month - every month when the moon changed! Every month at the full moon - she gasped, and looked at Remus.   
Remus, a _werewolf?_ How could it be?? She wrapped her arms around herself. Werewolves were another item on her "I'm-terrified-of-the-following-things" list. But if Remus was one - she'd never really seen one in action - she suspected now that it wasn't as bad as she'd thought.   
You know, werewolves really don't have much of a choice, she considered. And if James knows, and he's still Remus's friend, then I'm safe - if James thinks it's okay - she looked at James.   
I really love his hair, she realized. She almost smiled, but checked herself. Was she going insane??????

James looked across the table at Lily - it was the closest they'd ever eaten to each other. Or done anything, in fact. Their friends were all giving each other "We-knew-this-was-going-to-happen-and-aren't-we-just-SO-proud-of-ourselves-for-helping-it-along" glances, but it was only mildly annoying this time. I guess I've gotten used to it, he pondered. He looked at her again. My angel, he thought, and it took a lot to keep from smiling.   
Dinner was soon over, and all but two students pounded upstairs instantly to get to their common rooms. James and Lily stayed behind, surreptitiously, in silent agreement. Lily approached him first when the rest of the Hogwarts students were out of earshot, and took a deep breath.   
She must have been scared of this moment for weeks, James thought, fondly amused, and he was suddenly quite calm.   
"James, I - I like it better when we're nice," she told him. He smiled.   
"You do? Maybe I shouldn't have taken Sirius's advice and swallowed my enmity," he joked. She grinned.   
"Maybe I shouldn't have taken _my_ advice and started to like you!" she remarked.   
He kissed her.


End file.
